The Sea God's Might Descends (Part 2)

After emerging from the water, Jiang Chun shook off the shellfish and algae clinging to his body. He was completely naked, but he skillfully found a pair of loose trousers outside the cabin and put them on before squatting down and imitating frog calls.

Soon, a boy and a girl ran out. The older one looked to be about eight or nine years old, and the younger one looked to be about five or six years old. Behind them was an elderly woman who walked with a slight limp.

The little girl excitedly called out to Jiang Chun, "Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!"

The little boy smiled and called out in slightly accented Chinese, "Uncle Jiang!"

Jiang Chun smiled and patted their heads, then spoke a string of Myanmar with an equally strange accent. He sat cross-legged at the door of the small wooden house, helping them process the fish meat that was not yet finished, preparing to dry it into dried fish for preservation. At the same time, he chatted casually with the two children and the old man—the two children were teaching him Burmese through the things he was doing.

Diagnosed with a terminal illness and knowing he didn't have much time left, Jiang Chun traveled around with all his money, wanting to see the world before he died and then quietly "die out there" without letting anyone know—after all, he didn't have any relatives or friends left.

In Montamira, when he saw the "phantom of the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant," under the influence of intense fear, he still chose to stand in front of the giant, wanting to end his illness and life in this unusual way.

However, when the illusion dissipated, under the influence of strong emotions, he suddenly realized what he was truly afraid of.

What he feared was not simply dying, but dying alone, in pain, and with nothing. He feared that when he was about to disappear from this world, he would leave no trace of it, and the world would have no memory of him. His forty-one years of life would end in such a regretful way.

Choosing to travel abroad without treatment was partly because treatment was too late and ineffective, and he didn't have enough money to support continued treatment and expensive medications; and partly as a way to escape.

After being influenced by the projection of fear, Montamira suddenly understood many things and clarified what he feared most and what he wanted most.

No matter how much time you have left, you have a chance to succeed by starting. Even if you die without having accomplished anything, at least you will have done your best.

Before returning to China, Jiang Chun decided to visit one last time a small island he had seen in a magazine on the plane, so he went to the seaside and chartered a small fishing boat.

Unexpectedly, due to a series of unforeseen events, he never made it to the island and ended up stranded at sea with the boatman until sunset before returning. They even lost their way and strayed into an area where smuggling, illegal immigration, and other illegal activities were frequently carried out. To make matters worse, he witnessed a murder case that appeared to be an internal gang dealing with a traitor.

Jiang Chun's boat was of average quality, and the boatman was stunned for a long time and didn't react in time, so he was not able to escape immediately after being discovered and was caught by the gang.

The unfortunate Jiang Chun and the boatman were both sunk at sea.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Chun, who was thought to be doomed, woke up at the bottom of the sea, but his body was bound by heavy objects and he could not break free.

Fortunately, he seems to have developed the ability to breathe underwater, so he won't suffocate even in the water.

After some time, driven by hunger, he caught a fish swimming nearby, sucked and swallowed its blood, and then fell asleep again.

After an unknown amount of time, when he awoke again, the joints that had been bound by heavy objects could suddenly twist in the opposite direction, and the muscle strength in certain areas had also increased significantly, allowing him to successfully break free.

Jiang Chun spent a lot of time assessing his condition and realized that his body had undergone a strange mutation. However, he could not eat anything now. When he was hungry, he could only eat the blood of other animals to relieve his hunger. Moreover, after drinking blood, he would fall into a deep sleep for a period of time.

The need to drink blood was something he found hard to accept, because in his mind, drinking blood was something only evil beings did. But after spending some time in the sea, he became more accepting of it, because he witnessed many sea creatures hunting each other, which was even more cruel and bloody. But obviously no one would think that this kind of predation between hunters and prey in nature should be labeled as evil. Humans themselves also engage in various forms of hunting, and much of the meat on the market and dinner table comes from slaughter.

As long as there are bottom lines—avoiding human bloodshed, and not killing for the sake of killing—it seems there's nothing wrong with hunting and consuming blood for survival—don't ordinary people also hunt and kill fish to eat?

After figuring things out, Jiang Chun became even more "at ease" in the sea.

In the water, he gradually felt even more at ease and free than on land. Moreover, the weakness and discomfort brought on by the illness that he had almost gotten used to during this time all disappeared, as if the original Jiang Chun had died and he had become a "water ghost".

He had a vague feeling that his resurrection and transformation in the water were likely related to the "illusion of the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant" that Montamira had seen.

Or has he now become a being of the same dimension as that "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant"?

Jiang Chun was enjoying himself in the water, constantly sensing and experiencing the changes in his body, and making various attempts.

But there was one thing he couldn't let go of.

The boatman who took him out to sea was also "dealt with" by the "gang" that night, but he wasn't as lucky as him. He didn't come back to life or mutate; he had already died at the bottom of the sea.

He couldn't possibly let this go so easily.

He considered many options, but ultimately chose a safer approach. Instead of confronting them directly, he spent several nights moving the boatman who had been sunk and the bodies that the "gang" had disposed of to a more populated beach with tourists, hoping to find them.

He then wrote down in detail in English the locations where the smuggling, human trafficking, and drug trafficking gangs were hiding, which he had secretly discovered, and submitted them to the largest police station in the area that night.

Next, all that's left is to wait.

Just in case, Jiang Chun also wrote down everything he had found out, including the details of the two victims he had witnessed, in English and hid it. If the police didn't take any action, he planned to release this to the media. If all else failed, he even considered whether he should carry out the "punishment" himself to seek justice for the dead.

In the days following the mutation, besides reflecting on the changes in his body, he thought most about why these things happened, as well as the "miracle" that occurred in Montamira before, the scene of the godlike "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant" descending to earth. He found it hard not to connect the two events.

This connection, this reflection on various states of mind, and this experience of the fear he felt at the time, would occasionally bring a thought to his mind:

Could it be that this transformation was the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant" granting him authority and power, giving him a "new life," so that he could become a sword to punish certain evils?

During this process, Jiang Chun accidentally saved a little boy from drowning, and then discovered that this little boy was actually the child of the boatman who had gone out to sea with him before.

The boatman's wife ran away after he disappeared, leaving behind a boy and a girl, and an elderly mother suffering from multiple illnesses. The family's life fell into hardship.

Jiang Chun would often help the family by secretly guiding and assisting them in salvaging valuable items from the seabed to sell, and occasionally catching fish and other high-quality seafood to improve their meals or sell at the market.

After they got to know each other, he would occasionally come out of the water at night and help the family with tasks such as repairing their house and appliances. He would also chat casually with the two children and the elderly—learning Burmese from them and teaching them some basic Chinese.

Both children adored Jiang Chun, and because of him, they developed a strong fondness and longing for China, saying they definitely wanted to visit China and study there someday.

Besides the elderly man and the two children, there were other people in the neighborhood who had seen Jiang Chun.

Previously, some fishermen in the vicinity saw two children carrying seafood that could only be caught in the deep sea. They accused the children of stealing it from them, robbed them of their seafood, and kicked them out.

Upon learning of this, Jiang Chun secretly went to the fishermen's house that very night and gave them a simple "warning"—drawing a few simple symbols of an "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant."

Later, when these fishermen went out to sea to fish, he tampered with their boat, fulfilling the "warning" he had left behind and frightening them.

After that, when the two children went to the market to sell seafood, the fishermen didn't dare to bully them anymore.

Although some time has passed since the mass hallucination incident in Montamira, its impact continues to reverberate throughout Myanmar.

Especially in rural areas, the more underdeveloped the region, the greater the awe and reverence for the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant," leading to various speculations and associations. This influence is equally significant among fishermen at sea.

Jiang Chun knew this, which is why he used the name of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant" to intimidate others.

Judging from the results, it's not bad.

Today, as usual, Jiang Chun came to the children's home to help them with some chores, learn a few words of Burmese, and catch up on their situation.

He learned from the old woman that the police still hadn't taken any action, and the gang members involved in the murders were still at large. Jiang Chun realized that he couldn't rely on the Myanmar police anymore.

While he was thinking, the little boy tugged at his hand and showed him a drawing he had done over the past few days.

It was a picture of an Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant, with two crookedly written Chinese characters below it, "Justice".

These are two Chinese characters he taught the little boy a few days ago.

Jiang Chun smiled and was about to take the painting and say something when he suddenly heard some unusual noises.

After the mutation, his sensory abilities in the water were greatly enhanced. He was able to perceive the movement in the water around him through the fur on his body, and his underwater vision was also improved.

On land, while he didn't degenerate to the point of being unable to breathe or having difficulty moving, he also didn't experience any significant improvement.

The only exception is on land, where he is very sensitive to any sound related to water, such as the sloshing of liquid in a container or the sound of stepping on water.

He had just noticed something stepping into a puddle in the woods not far from the cabin. Judging from the sound and movement, it must have been a person. And from the location, it was a good spot to spy on the cabin.

Jiang Chun became wary and sent the elderly and children back inside, while he quickly ran towards the beach. He wasn't afraid as long as he was back in the water.

But after running only a few steps, a searchlight suddenly shone on them, locking onto Jiang Chun's figure.

It was a pickup truck on the road in the distance, which looked like police officers, but soon Jiang Chun spotted a guy running out of the dense woods beside the road, carrying various weapons.

He recognized the gang leader in the picture; it was the one who had ordered his men to throw him and the boatmen overboard.

Jiang Chun instantly understood why the police hadn't taken action against the gang, even though the clues he provided were so detailed and the bodies of the two victims had been discovered.

These guys are all in cahoots!

Jiang Chun turned around and started to speed into the water, but after running a few steps, he found that there were speedboats coming from the sea, and some people were even pointing guns at them.

These guys came prepared.

Jiang Chun realized that it was very likely that some of his previous activities had exposed his whereabouts, and then the gang, knowing that someone had reported him, connected the two situations—after all, the old man and the two children were the family members of the murdered boatman.

Jiang Chun regretted not being careful enough and underestimating the power, ruthlessness, and audacity of those people.

The gang leader, with a long braid and tattoos on his neck and arms, walked to the edge of the hut. His men brought out two children and an old woman, took out a machete, and held it to the little boy's neck, looking towards Jiang Chun.

"Brother, which side are you from? Did you write that email in English?"

The leader spoke Burmese, and although Jiang Chun couldn't understand everything, he could roughly grasp his meaning after a few exchanges.

Despite his nervousness, he turned his face towards the leader so they could see his face through the searchlight, and then shouted back in Burmese: "I am Haili! You, who have committed assault, are subject to punishment by the Eight-Eyed Eight-Armed Heavenly God!"

Of the entire sentence, only the phrase "Eight-Eyed Eight-Armed Heavenly God" flowed smoothly.

The leader seemed not to understand, asked the person next to him, and then burst into laughter. He looked down and saw the drawing paper the little boy was clutching tightly in his hand, snatched it away, and spat on it. "What kind of bullshit god is this!"

A short young man with an earring nearby couldn't help but whisper, "Brother Hui, this 'Eight-Eyed God' has appeared in Montamira. He's very famous; he's said to be in charge of fear and life and death..."

He spoke softer and softer, and then stopped halfway through his sentence, not daring to continue, because the leader, "Brother Hui," was looking at him with a sinister gaze.

Suddenly, "Brother Hui" raised his hand and tore the little boy's drawing to shreds, cursing, "I've never believed in ghosts or gods in my life! I'm the biggest ghost! The biggest god!"

Jiang Chun brushed aside his long hair and shouted, "Look who I am!"

He originally intended to use his status as the "deceased" who had been killed by the other party to intimidate them, making them hesitant to harm the two children and the elderly, and then escape. As long as he was still in the water and not caught, they should have some reservations—this was the only option he had under the circumstances.

But to his surprise, as soon as he finished speaking, all the lights around him, whether they were the searchlights on the highway, the lights in the cabin, or the flashlights in the hands of the gang members, all went dark.

Next, very soft drumbeats began, gradually increasing in volume and speed, each beat seemingly striking the hearts of the people, causing them to feel uneasy.

"Brother Hui" discovered that the drumming sound seemed to be coming from his phone, and from everyone's phone.